It’s funny how every culture and country thinks their favorite foods are normal and universally loved when nothing could be farther from the truth. Regional differences mean our tastes vary widely. What one nation thinks is heavenly, another finds positively hellish.
For instance, the Japanese like their Kit Kats laced with wasabi while the rest of the world prefers a less spicy option. Scandinavians love salted black licorice known as salmiakki; most other people like it sans the salt (and many times, not at all).
The Aussies go crazy for musk sticks but people from other countries think they taste pretty much like perfume. And the Irish loved a limited edition cheese and onion potato chip flavored chocolate bar so much it had to be put into regular rotation while it seems everyone else would rather keep the chip flavors out of our candy, thank you very much.
In the end, what we like to eat appears to be, at least in part, a culturally driven preference. That holds especially true when it comes to sweets and desserts, which hold a special place at any family table. And in no place is that more apparent than America.
1. Breakfast Bloopers
America’s love affair with sweetened cereals such as Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, and Froot Loops baffles and disgusts most other countries. Used to savory or simply plainer breakfast foods, they cannot fathom why anyone would want to catch a huge sugar buzz first thing in the morning.
The same holds true for PopTarts, which are eyed with great suspicion. Non-Americans cite the cardboard-like texture, bright artificial colors, hard frosting and “fruit” filling as baffling and even downright gross.
America’s pancakes disappoint many visitors as well. Syrup is not a thing in most other places around the world. What’s more, the dense consistency and cloying taste are confusing to people from countries where pancakes are lighter, fluffier, and far less sweet creations.
2. Terrible Textures
This next one might not surprise anyone: Foreigners cannot fathom the appeal of Jello. From its crazy colors to its wiggling jiggling circus act, people from outside America do not know why anyone would eat such an atrocity.
America’s Thanksgiving favorite, pumpkin pie, also gets kicked into the “gross foods” category quite often. The rest of the world wonders why a pie made out of a gourd is even a thing. Not to mention the mushy yet gelatinous mouth feel it has leaves many people begging for it to stop.
Particularly surprising, though, is the global hate for peanut butter and jelly. It seems America’s belief that fruit jam and peanut butter go together like bread and butter, salt and pepper, bacon and eggs doesn’t mesh with the rest of the world’s opinion. Everyone else thinks this is a weird and unappealing combination.
3. Curious Reminders
Sometimes, the complaint is centered less around the particular sweet and more about what the taste reminds people of—which usually leads to an unpleasant memory. For example, most of the rest of the world finds root beer repulsive. People say the sassafras used to flavor this carbonated favorite tastes like a mixture of licorice and wintergreen. It’s been compared to cough syrup people in Russia take as children. An acquired taste, perhaps?
Hershey’s chocolate is widely disliked by the rest of the world. They describe the taste as “dusty,” “tangy,” excessively sweet, and lacking richness. Our advice: Seek out some of the country’s less commercial, more specialized bars featuring a higher cocoa percentage like those made by Santa Barbara Chocolate, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker or Vosges Haut-Chocolat.
Another beloved candy in America that’s a head-scratcher in other countries is red licorice. Red Vines are described as tasting like minty soap, and the rest of the world wonders why anyone would eat something that seems better suited to the shower. Twizzlers are accused of being waxy and not tasting anything like black licorice (which is a valid point).
4. Complete Mysteries
The rest of the world apparently finds Snow Cones simply mystifying. How can shaved ice covered in colored syrup be considered a dessert? they wonder. Americans think it s fun, sweet, cool, and refreshing on a hot day. People from other countries wish America would just stick to serving ice cream.
This last one really freaks the rest of the world out: Sweet Potato casserole. Why on earth would anyone add sugar to already sweet sweet potatoes, no less top them with marshmallows? (The answer is because Americans think it tastes delicious.) However, a gloppy sugary mess made of a root vegetable just does not do it for other countries.
5. Agree To Disagree?
So maybe America is obsessed with sugar and making things too sweet. Maybe eating chocolate-covered crickets and adding salsa to sour candy isn’t ever going to catch on here. Let’s all just agree to disagree on what makes for a delicious dessert, and have fun trying new things when we visit each other around the world. Deal?
